The Environmental Improvement category is always one of the most hotly contested categories in the Supply Chain Excellence Awards. Most organisations are now fully aware of the importance environmental performance plays in both building brand value and achieving strong competitive positioning. There were plenty of entries, including two of London’s biggest airports.

The two outstanding entries in this category were Southampton Council with the Solent Alliance and Gatwick Airport with DHL Supply Chain.

The entry from Southampton Council with the Solent Alliance demonstrates what can be achieved through close collaboration and offers a potential model for future urban logistics projects. Over the past five years Southampton Council has offered a 24/7 solution to transport goods to and from the Isle of Wight. With its logistics partner The Solent Alliance (a partnership made up of Meachers Global Logistics, Steve Porter Transport and Red Funnel), the council used a consolidation centre at the Meachers Global Logistics site on the mainland in Southampton, Red Funnel Ferries as the shipping arm and Steve Porter as the Isle of Wight independent transport company. The benefits in terms of reducing the number of vehicles and journeys were also reflected in the significant reductions achieved in CO2 emissions. The judges could see the obvious gains made in reducing congestion and the positive impact on the environment – on average 44 vehicles taken off the road every day. The judges decided to Highly Commend Southampton Council with the Solent Alliance.

Gatwick, alongside its logistics partner DHL, has implemented a ‘circular economy’ recycling closed loop. The programme leverages DHL’s inbound consolidation operation for Gatwick Airport, creating an efficient and seamless end-to-end process, driven by real-time data collection of where and when waste appears, for full visibility of waste and recycling. A core element of the recycling system is the introduction of the world’s first International Catering Waste compliant biomass combustion system to be introduced in an airport. The energy created is used to heat the airport, making considerable cost savings. With passenger numbers reaching a record high of 45 million in 2017 it was seen as imperative to put in place processes to manage the additional waste, while minimising the environmental impact. The results achieved greatly impressed the judges – a 50 per cent reduction in waste volume, 80 per cent reduction in waste sent for disposal, 80 per cent fewer skip lorries using local roads and 210 fewer industrial-size waste bin collections a day across the airport. The judges considered Gatwick Airport with DHL Supply Chain a worthy recipient of the Environmental Improvement trophy – the Award was theirs.